PROJECT TITLE: Mulfistage Vectors (MSV) for Ovarian Cancer Therapeufics PROJECT SUMMARY: Because ovarian cancer is fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in women and a leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States, it is necessary to develop novel therapeufic agents and strategies beyond convenfional chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. Nanotechnology meets this necessity because of the possibility to develop novel therapeufics. Project 1 alms to demonstrate the feasibility for translafion of a novel biocompatible nano-delivery system for efficient in vivo siRNA and drug delivery to achieve control of tumor growth and angiogenesis for a prolonged period. Project 1 will use the innovafive "multi-stage" approach, using biodegradable porous silicon particles as a carrier of therapeufic nanoparticles, which will offer a paradigm shift from convenfional nanotechnology based drug delivery by improving unfavorable pharmacokinefics of nanoparticles. Additionally, Project 1 aims to monitor therapeufic responses. Project 1 presents how novel nanotechnologies offer unequaled solufions to such undisputable necessity. The investigators will develop nanochip technologies to establish proteomic profiles to effectively monitor therapeufic responses and complement these with the development of sensifive gold-gold nanoshells to image tumor microvasculature with superb resolufion to monitor tumor vasculature response to therapy. Moreover, the investigators will utilize core-crosslinked polymeric micelles to detect and image active apoptosis in vivo, indicative of response to most anti-cancer therapies. The proposed work will greatly contribute to fill the existing gap between discovery of basic cancer biology and nanotechnology